Nominations are invited for the 1996 Mindel C. Sheps Award in mathematical demography and demographic methodology. This biennial award is sponsored jointly by the Population Association of America and the School of Public Health of the University of North Carolina. The previous recipients of the award have been Ansley Coale, Nathan Keyfitz, William Brass, Robert Potter, Jane Menken, Ronald Lee, John Bogaarts, Kenneth Wachter, Kenneth Manton, Joel Cohen, and Burton Singer. The award, which consists of a certificate and a cash prize, will be made at the next PAA Annual Meeting in Spring 1996.
Individuals (or collaborative pairs) should be nominated on the basis of important contributions to knowledge either in the form of a single piece of work or a continuing record of high accomplishment. The award is intended as an honor for an individual whose future research achievements are likely to continue a past record of excellence, rather than as a tribute to a demographer who is ending an active professional career.
Nominations should include a brief summary of the nominee's work and promise for future contributions, as well as a selective list of positions held, relevant additional biographical information, and principal publications.
The recipient need not be a member of PAA, nor is eligibility confined to residents or citizens of particular countries. Persons previously nominated are eligible to be nominated again; there are more excellent candidates than can be recipients in any specific year. Nominations should be submitted before January 1, 1996 to: Mark R. Montgomery, Chair, Sheps Award Committee, Research Division, The Population Council, 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY 10017.
Pre- or postdoctoral graduate students are invited to submit papers for the 1996 Dorothy Thomas Award competition. The award has been established by the PAA in honor of Dorothy S. Thomas and is presented annually for the best graduate student paper on the interrelationships among social, economic, and demographic variables. The award consists of a cash prize and an appropriate certificate.
The research for the paper must be undertaken while the author is a predoctoral graduate student, resident in an accredited graduate program. The paper must have both theoretical and empirical aspects. Two or more students may share the award for a collaborative study, but a paper jointly authored by a student and a member of the graduate faculty is not eligible. An individual remains eligible to compete for the prize (with a paper researched during predoctoral studies) for 1 year following completion of those studies. Published papers that meet the above requirements are acceptable. Recipients of the Ph.D. prior to December 1, 1994, and previous winners of the award are not eligible.
The paper should be normal article length and should not exceed 35 pages, including double-spaced text, tables, figures, footnotes, and appendices. Papers that exceed this page length may not be considered. The Committee reserves the right to withhold the award if it decides no suitable paper was submitted.
The student should have one of his or her research advisors submit a letter confirming his or her eligibility for the award. Send the nomination and five copies of the paper by February 1, 1996 to: Nancy S. Landale, Chair Dorothy S. Thomas Award Committee, Population Research Institute, 601 Oswald Tower, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. FAX: 814-863-8342; E-mail: NSL3@psuvm.psu.edu